Sturgeon Posted January 8, 2016 Report Share Posted January 8, 2016 Well, I guess the Holocene didn't last long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xthetenth Posted January 8, 2016 Report Share Posted January 8, 2016 Gonna be honest, when you've got a date which makes metals made after it immediately obvious, you've got a pretty good case for having made your mark on the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Priory_of_Sion Posted January 8, 2016 Report Share Posted January 8, 2016 Well, I guess the Holocene didn't last long. Some of my professors, in archaeology and geology, have argued that since humanity has changed the environment in a significant enough way through the entire Holocene that the Anthropocene doesn't need to be a thing. Although if you'd really want to make a new epoch then the Nuclear Age being the start is pretty ideal IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sturgeon Posted January 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2016 Gonna be honest, when you've got a date which makes metals made after it immediately obvious, you've got a pretty good case for having made your mark on the world. I just think it's strange to have a geological epoch spanning a period of time hardly even measurable on a geological time scale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xthetenth Posted January 8, 2016 Report Share Posted January 8, 2016 I just think it's strange to have a geological epoch spanning a period of time hardly even measurable on a geological time scale. It spans a likely rather significant but indeterminate amount into the future as well unless something really drastic happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sturgeon Posted January 9, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 It spans a likely rather significant but indeterminate amount into the future as well unless something really drastic happens. No, I meant making the Holocene so short. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Priory_of_Sion Posted January 9, 2016 Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 No, I meant making the Holocene so short. The could always make the the "Anthropocene" a stage of the Holocene epoch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xthetenth Posted January 9, 2016 Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 No, I meant making the Holocene so short. Ahh. Events can happen in close proximity sometimes. To combine the two would mean to me that either Humans were a prime driver of their environment and the world in general immediately after the development of agriculture or that them and their shaping of the environment was an inevitable consequence of the conditions of the time. The could always make the the "Anthropocene" a stage of the Holocene epoch. That would make sense to me, although it might be a stage that massively outlasts the epoch it's notionally part of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toxn Posted January 9, 2016 Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 I think the core issue is that future archeologists should be able to discern a split in the layers themselves. So, yeah, the anthropocene is definitely a thing. My feeling is that we should effectively view the holocene as a short interperiod just before the anthropocene proper kicks off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostCosmonaut Posted January 9, 2016 Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 I think humans were definitely having effects on the environment (at least ecologically) thousands of years BC, but I don't really think they can be discerned geologically. Radiation showing up seems like a reasonable marker. On a related note, human impact on South Pole ice cores dates back to the 19th century: http://theconversation.com/lead-pollution-beat-amundsen-and-scott-to-the-south-pole-by-20-years-29800 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sturgeon Posted January 9, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 So, it sounds like lots of people think I have an issue with the Anthropocene. Absolutely not! I just am not sure exactly why we need the Holocene in there. I mean, surely if we're measuring shit at that level of resolution, then we need a fuck ton of little epochs right at the K-P boundary, all kinds of shit. The Holocene should be an Age, not an Epoch, like... At best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toxn Posted January 9, 2016 Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 So, it sounds like lots of people think I have an issue with the Anthropocene. Absolutely not! I just am not sure exactly why we need the Holocene in there. I mean, surely if we're measuring shit at that level of resolution, then we need a fuck ton of little epochs right at the K-P boundary, all kinds of shit. The Holocene should be an Age, not an Epoch, like... At best! I think we're all pretty much agreeing with you here. We're just hashing the details out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xthetenth Posted January 9, 2016 Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 I think humans were definitely having effects on the environment (at least ecologically) thousands of years BC, but I don't really think they can be discerned geologically. Radiation showing up seems like a reasonable marker. I think we've got some pretty definite disruption from gouging out mineral deposits dating back to the iron age at least. Radiation postdates a lot of big things getting gouged out of the earth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donward Posted January 9, 2016 Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 This is the geologists version of the gun guy debate about what constitutes a "battle rifle". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scolopax Posted May 4, 2016 Report Share Posted May 4, 2016 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sturgeon Posted May 13, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2016 So, we now live in the world of Deus Ex: http://www.techinsider.io/advanced-darpa-prosthetic-arm-2016-5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belesarius Posted June 10, 2016 Report Share Posted June 10, 2016 Interesting new MS treatment. Somewhat high risk though.. They basically totally nuke/reboot your immune system and are having some pretty astonishing results with it. So far 1 in 24 patients have died from Liver failure, probably due to the extremely toxic chemo drugs. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ms-treatment-impressive-results-ottawa-lancet-1.3609031 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belesarius Posted June 25, 2016 Report Share Posted June 25, 2016 http://www.airforcetimes.com/story/military/2016/06/24/breakthrough-blast-related-brain-injures-reveals-microscopic-scarring/86341098/ Interesting stuff. Microscopic damage caused by explosions, undetectable by most scans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belesarius Posted June 25, 2016 Report Share Posted June 25, 2016 Xstat 20 sponges used for the first time and save a soldiers life. These are a neat new tech. http://www.airforcetimes.com/story/military/2016/06/25/xstat-sponges-saves-coalition-soldiers-life-after-bullet-wound/86138344/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belesarius Posted July 5, 2016 Report Share Posted July 5, 2016 USMC testing a portable surgical suite that fits in 2 Ospreys. This will apparently be an asset for Company landing teams. A significan capability jump for forward deployed medical personnel. "This new Forward Surgical Suite (FSS) pairs with the Shock Trauma Section (STS) and are geared to support the company-sized landing team. The STS will consist of an emergency room physician, physician’s assistant, emergency nurse and field medical technician. The section will be equipped with a tent, two warming systems, two oxygen generators, two blood cooling systems and four litters. Two general surgeons, an orthopedic surgeon, a nurse, two or three anesthesiologists and four medical technicians would staff the FSS. It would have additional equipment along with six tents." "The FSS/STS package includes “green” systems and “surrogate” technologies to sort concepts and systems. A Polaris MRZR, an Internally Transportable Vehicle that fits in the Osprey, gives the company legs to move its casualties and serves as the hub for power sourcing. “We are focused on being self-sustaining,” Gribben said. Electronic equipment can be powered or charged by solar panels and small, flex-fuel generators that reduce reliance on fossil fuels. A water filtration system and 100- and 150-gallon water bladders will extend the time between resupply. A robotic vehicle, the MUTT or Multi-Utility Tactical Transport, will help move casualties on litters into care faster than if just carried on foot and, they expect, enable more Marines to keep their weapons “pointed outward,” Gribben said." https://news.usni.org/2016/07/01/marines-testing-mv-22-portable-battlefield-surgical-unit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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